The Week of May 28th 

This group in Musgrave had great fishing their week; they caught and released many masters. This was a trip of first for 14 year old Adric S. and he had a number of beautiful fish. Musgrave is one of the unique outposts in our portfolio as there are two lakes to explore that are connected by a short portage, Musgrave Lake and Kilbarry Lake. Kilbarry is long and shallower than Musgrave, creating a perfect spot for big fish to patrol. This water is always a good spot to find big pike! They can be found throughout the lake, specifically where the lake comes to a bay. Later in the summer you will find these bays bloom with weeds and vegetation, perfect cover for these voracious predators; and moose too!

“Fishing was solid on Musgrave. We averaged about 40-50 fish per day per boat. As the temps increased the fish went deep. From 10-12’ on the first two days, to 28’ the last two. Pretty crazy. 25” walleye was the biggest with many in the 17”-20” size range. 35” northern pike was our largest.”

-The Leonard Party

A report from the Hansen group:

Fishing hotspots– straight out from the dock to other side of the lake, great fishing at 7-25 feet deep along edge of the weeds, east off the dock about a mile was also very good
On-fire Lures– jig heads pink, white, gold- spoons orange and silver, blue and silver minnow looking spoon
Memorable moments– Bear in the camp, pet seagull
Tips/Things that worked– Fish tacos with cabbage and sriracha mayo

Our group had a very memorable and wonderful time at the Musgrave Lake Outpost last week. The cabin was in great shape, and we were all impressed with the stone walkway from the dock to the porch. The boats had plenty of room and the engines ran flawlessly. That is the most important ‘appliance’ for any fishing party.

We started the trip by staying overnight at the McKenzie Lake cabin, where Jackie and Regan hosted us. I have to give them special thanks since they were so friendly and outgoing.

We found within the first day one of the best walleye producing spots I’ve ever come across fishing in the Albany River watershed over the last 20 years. We caught a few 25 inch walleyes, but most were a healthy (and fat) 18”-20”. This spot was almost directly across the lake in 12’-16’ of water. The bait we did best on was a pink sinking jig-head, with a white twister tail and a piece of night-crawler.

The pike typically hit well on red and white daredevils, as well as a silver ‘Williams Wobbler’. Sometimes the pike were very active, and sometimes they were not.

We caught a lot of pike 20-26 inches in the north-west end of the lake as you go through the channel into what looks like ‘Popeye’s Arm’. There’s also a large weed bed just to the South-East of that channel where a lot of pike and walleye were caught.

About ½ mile from the cabin to the South on the Eastern shore, there is another large stretch of weeds where the pike were bigger, and we caught about ten 30-36 inchers. The last day there three 40+ inch pike were caught, and one which was 44” and estimated to be in the 20+ pound range.

We saw (2) moose, several otters, and a family of (4) mink during our stay there.

I would like to thank the Wilderness North team for your attention to detail, your responsiveness, and friendly approach to the customers.

-The White Group

A quote from Rob: “Fishing and weather have been outstanding this week. We have seen both moose and eagles. Yesterday there was a very large grouse outside our cabin! What a noise it made! Below is a picture of Brandon! This was his first trip to Canada – he had the largest northern of the trip with this 36″ he caught with an Orange Rapala. The entrance to Kilbarry is kinda embarrassing, the fishing was so good. We were catching fish every 2 out of 3 casts. We were not fishing. We were catching. Great time! Thanks to you, Alan, Lynette and everyone at WN. Great trip and looking forward to 2019!”

“Well, we didn’t have to go far to land the fish” said group member Mel. They would set on a spot, and rotate lures, continually catching and releasing walleye for hours. Averaging on 60/fish days per boat, with the majority being walleye, this group had a blast. Their go-to lure was a floating jig with splitshots, any color. A consistent rotation from minnows to leeches or worms kept the fish enticed for hours. They Averaged on 30-35 inch pike, with 1 40incher, and one ‘alligator’ that never made it into the boat!”